This school year, Poway High is expecting new changes with the arrival of a new agriculture teacher, as our old one has moved back up North to be with family. He will be bringing new ideas and experiences to the classroom and to our Future Farmers of America (FFA) program.
Jonah Bernstein studied at Cal Poly Pomona and did his student teaching in Davis, where he decided to major in Agriculture with an emphasis on Animal Science. He also worked with Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts during his years of student teaching.
“I had an aunt growing up in the Poway area,” Bernstein said.
He wanted to find a place that had Kosher options and Jewish communities, which drew him to Poway and led him to join the PHS community.
He has big plans for the FFA program, as he will be taking them into competitions and will also be bringing FFA week to life this year on campus by planning some fun events like “Kiss the Pig” to get students more involved.
When he’s not teaching, he enjoys musical theater and the hit reality TV show Survivor. He takes inspiration from the show by enjoying doing his own kind of challenges from the TV show, like their endurance challenges and puzzles. Music-wise, he enjoys “Weird Al Yankovic,” which shows his fun personality.
Some of his first experiences with agriculture were when he grew his first crop – broccoli –and when he handled his first animal, a goat, making these his favorite crops and animals.
If Bernstein were to say one thing to his high school self, it would be, “Things will turn out all right.”
A personal quote he lives by now is “Don’t be afraid that it won’t be perfect; the only thing to be afraid of is that it won’t be.”
Bernstein brings his positive attitude to the classroom every day. “I’m very excited for this year, let’s go Poway,” Bernstein said.
